In The Begining - Genesis 1:3

Грешник · Post by **Грешник** » Sun 25 January 2004 7:00 pm

Heere is an interesting one for y'all.

Genesis 1:3 has several different translations.

Genesis 1:3 -

KJV: Genesis 1:3
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Douay-Rhiems Genesis 1:3
And God said: Be light made. And light was made.

Latin Vulgate Genesis 1:3
Deus fiat lux et facta est lux

Hebrew: Genesis 1:3
vy'mr 'lhym yhy 'vr vyhy-'vr.

Now my Latin is a bit rusty but I would venture to guess that the best translation for the Latin would be as follows:

"And God willed that there be light and there was light."

The issue you run into (at least I do) is WILLED versus SAID. The latter seems more correct to me.

The interesting thing is only vs.3 uses the latin verb "fiat (will) rather than Vocat (to say).

Any thoughts?

Juvenaly

Mary Kissel · Post by **Mary Kissel** » Mon 26 January 2004 10:43 am

Thankyou for posting this juvenaly! that is interesting, I agree

MaryCecilia

Justin Kissel · Post by **Justin Kissel** » Mon 26 January 2004 10:50 am

Juvenaly,

I'm very unfamiliar with this particular issue, but I agree that "said" sounds much more like the proper meaning of the word. I seem to remember reading in the Fathers talk a bit about how God could create ex nihilo with a simple but all-powerful word. I guess they might have also spoke of God's will, and maybe "will" isn't actually unOrthodox, though I've never heard the Fathers speak of it. Then again, I've read very little of the Fathers, and even less of the ones writing in Latin

Seraphim Reeves · Post by **Seraphim Reeves** » Sat 27 March 2004 12:01 pm

Juvenaly,

I agree, word/speach is the appropriate frame of reference of this, not "will". With all due respect to St.Jerome, this translation misses out on a deeper consideration of just what/Who that "Word" is.

God creates from utter nothingness (which we cannot comprehend), both materially and conceptually. While men can form things in a way similar to how God also forms things, even this is inferior; for when men "form" really they are not doing anything that hasn't been done before, but rather are taking bits and pieces of already existing things/ideas, or harnessing already existing phenomena, etc.

But when God's Word creates, He not only brings things into existance, but also sustains them - He keeps them in existance. Knowing that God's essence is not corporeal or circumscribed, we need to give though on just "what" His Word is, since it's obvious He has one. This is something which is ultimatly clarified in the New Testament, where it is made plain that this Word/Logos is Personal.

Seraphim